Not Again
by mysecretlife27
Summary: Damon has finally let himself care. When Stefan bails again, will it all come crashing in on him? Delena, eventually. Rated T for language and slightly mature themes to come.


**I have not written in forever and two days. Probably because my computer crashed and I was without a processor program. But I digress… anyway, I may be a bit rusty, but I hope you like it. As usual, please R&R and don't spare the truth! **

GENERAL POV

Damon Salvatore was in a miserable mood, as was the norm in the recent months. The girl he loved, one Elena Gilbert, was playing monkey in the middle with his heart. There was a distinct possibility that his best friend and favorite vampire hunter, Alaric Saltzman, might be a murderous psychopath who suffers from violent breaks with reality. And, to top it all off, his younger brother had pulled a disappearing act a few days ago, once again.

Now, why should this bother Damon? It probably wouldn't if it weren't for one small detail. The crying girl in his study. None other than the object of his own affections, Elena, once again shedding tears for the wrong Salvatore.

Damon gave an exhausted sigh and poured himself a drink.

Hearing the glass clink, Elena turned around and said, "Damon? What are you doing here? I just texted Matt and he said you were at the Grille. That was less than…" She trailed off, checking the message history on her phone for the exact time. "4 minutes ago." She concluded and put her phone back into her purse.

"Vampire speed thing, remember? And besides, the last I checked, I do live here. So… if anything I should be asking what you're doing here." Damon replied, lightly sloshing the amber liquid in his glass around before downing it in one gulp.

"Isn't it obvious? I am crying, Damon. I know you're not very well-informed when it comes to the range of human emotions, but I figured even you could grasp crying." Elena snapped back, her tearful brown eyes taking on a defensive edge.

Damon opened his mouth to give a reply but thought better of it and snapped his jaw shut. He poured himself another glass of bourbon, took a sip, and turned to leave the room. Before walking through the door, he said rather sarcastically, "As you wish, Elena. I will leave you to your complex range of emotions."

Elena called after him, "Damon! Wait! I'm sorry I'm being such a bitch. It's just that, since Stefan left, my nerves are shot. My mind is all over the place. Forgive me?"

Damon gave a forced smile and said shortly, "Of course. I'm going to my room now. Goodnight, Elena."

"Oh. Well, goodnight Damon." Elena said back, detecting in his tone that perhaps there was something he was not saying. Some feeling that he was not expressing.

Elena continued to worry about what Damon was trying to hide as she watched him hastily leave the room. She got up out of the desk chair to leave. As she was heading to the front door, she noticed that Damon had abandoned his bourbon on a hall table.

_That is so not like Damon. Something is definitely wrong with him…_ she thought, glancing up the stairs toward his bedroom.

Knowing that she couldn't sneak up the stairs without Damon hearing, she decided on a more direct approach. "Damon!" she called up the stairs. "Will you come down here?"

In less than one second, Damon was at the foot of the stairs with his hands gently on her arms. "Elena, is someone in the house? I didn't hear anything. Are you alright?" Damon asked, concerned.

"No, Damon. Everything's fine. I just want to talk to you about something." Elena said, touching his hands, which were still slightly grasping her upper arms.

Damon searched Elena's eyes for any source of distress, but he found nothing but leftover teardrops from earlier in the evening. He dropped his arms to his sides, took a step away from her, and cleared his throat before asking, "What is it, Elena?"

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Elena asked quietly.

"What? What are you getting at, Elena?" Damon questioned with a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Earlier, you left the study in a hurry, even after I apologized for snapping at you. You never even asked me why I was sobbing in your house in the first place. So, Damon, what is it?" Elena persisted.

Damon set his jaw angrily and said, "Dammit, Elena. You are so conceited sometimes. You need to realize that it's not always about you." He turned on his heel and stalked upstairs to his room.

Elena was left at the base of the staircase, in shock at Damon's words. She walked out of the house and drove home, but a new flood of tears fell from her eyes as she was doing so.

Damon heard her weeping; but, at that moment, he could not bring himself to care.

**I know it's short and not the ending of a chapter that Delena shippers want, but hang in there. The romance is coming soon. Stay on the lookout for updates, and please don't forget to review. Love and Hugs!**


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